Federal government employees can choose work from home option on Fridays

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) has issued a circular to all ministries and federal entities regarding flexible remote working for federal government employees on Fridays.

This step is being taken to ensure continuity of service provision and the federal government’s proper functioning during the implementation of the remote working system.

The circular is based on the new system of weekly work in the federal government sector, which started at the beginning of this year, in light of the directives issued by the competent authorities and based on Cabinet Resolution No.27 of 2020 regarding the remote working system in the federal government as amended.

In its circular No. (2) of 2022, the authority specified a set of controls that ministries and federal entities should abide by, allowing some employees to work remotely on Fridays.

These include specific conditions and controls that the job and the incumbent must fulfil of remote working in the federal government.

In the circular, the authority stated the necessity of having sufficient employees at the federal entity’s headquarters to ensure the continuity of providing services to customers.

Therefore, the number of employees who work from the office should not be less than 70 per cent of the total employees in the federal entity.

Priority should be accorded to employees whose workplaces are far from the place of residence to work remotely.

Any other humanitarian conditions that employees may face in this aspect must be taken into account.

The HR departments in the ministries and federal entities take over the task of supervising the rotation between employees in the organisational units of the entity who meet the conditions for remote work.

The federal entity must select the appropriate jobs for working remotely, through coordination with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, provided they get the employee’s acceptance through his/her line manager regarding working remotely on Fridays, in coordination with the department director HR department in the workplace.

The authority confirmed that it has re-engineered the HR Management Information System in the Federal Government "Bayanati", in accordance with the provisions of this circular for all operators of the system, to automate and facilitate the process for the employees applying for remote working on Fridays.

WAM